There were some big markdowns on LifeMiles and Qatar Airways this week, and yet Greg still advises hoarding and saving. Is he right? Read on to learn more about the markdowns, as well as the deals you can still get with Virgin points, whether you should spend them on Hyatt’s Milestone awards, and more.

This week on the Frequent Miler blog…

LifeMiles has increased some award costs and reduced others (45,000 Business Class to Great Britain and Ireland)

I’m as disappointed as anyone else about the Avianca LifeMiles devaluation. I especially hate when programs do unannounced devaluations as it seems particularly unnecessarily customer unfriendly. The biggest hit here is redemptions for first class tickets, although realistically these are so hard to get for most people (since Lufthansa only releases seats about 3 days in advance and ANA even less often) that it’s mostly lousy on paper. In practice, the changes haven’t been too painful for my own redemption habits, especially considering that I now subscribe to LifeMiles+ to get 10% off. I would have happily paid fewer miles and still gotten 10% off, but the truth is I can’t even remember the last time Avianca significantly changed international award ticket prices, so I think this was probably due for some time.

Another big devaluation, this time using Qatar Avios to book American & Alaska

Unfortunately, Avianca LifeMiles wasn’t the only company to offer an unannounced devaluation this week. Qatar Airways significantly devalued American Airlines and Alaska awards. That’s quite a blow for those who were able to benefit from excellent rates on short-haul flights, especially in domestic first class. These redemptions didn’t meet my needs, but given how few opportunities there are to get good value domestically these days, it’s a blow. That said, Qatar Avios, with their frequent transfer bonuses, might still be your best option in some situations.

The earn-and-burn fallacy. Should we try hoarding and cherry-picking instead?

It’s kind of ironic that Greg republished this post in a week where we saw unannounced devaluations. After all, anyone hoarding LifeMiles or Qatar Avios may no longer have the sweet cherries they were hoping to pick. However, if that was your first thought given the headline, then you need to read this post to remember that spending all your money now because prices are about to rise is bad advice – and the same goes (at least to some extent) for miles and points. I’ve been very lucky to be able to take advantage of great deals when I found them – and if I’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that there’s always a new deal waiting for me.

Podcast: Best Uses for Virgin Points | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep268 | 08/16/24

Virgin Points were a perfect topic of conversation during this week of devaluation, in part because they’re a great example of how even when programs are devalued, there are often still bright spots for those who can accept what’s lost and focus on what’s available. We won’t be using Virgin Points to fly across the pond on Delta anymore, but both Greg and I still have certain bright spots on our radar.

Seat selection for a complicated Aeroplan booking

Speaking of great rewards, I am currently in the middle of a layover on an Aeroplan booking that will take me to several countries. In fact, I am writing this post from a comfortable beach chair in Mauritius. Unfortunately, my seat selection for the flight here left a little to be desired as I had forgotten to select seats for my Air Mauritius flight from Paris to Mauritius. This led to some trial and error to figure out How to select seats for my next Air Mauritius flight and subsequent Singapore Airlines and United flights.

Best credit card offers with low spending requirements

If all of the above seems completely irrelevant to you because you think you just don’t spend enough to earn a significant number of miles, you might want to check out this post on the best credit card offers for low spender. Believe it or not, it is possible to rack up a decent amount of miles and points even without spending a lot.

Hyatt Milestone Spending What’s My X?

Greg wrote a fascinating post about spending at Hyatt Milestone and what that means for return on investment when you use a credit card to generate elite nights. I have a lot of thoughts on that – so many that I can’t fit them here, so you’ll have to wait a few days for a post from me in response to that.

MSC Armonia cruise on the Adriatic: Conclusion

In case you were wondering where I was from last week to earlier this week, I was on vacation cruising the Adriatic Sea on my last “free” MSC cruise. This was actually a cruise from the previous elite year thanks to Ocean Prime status. I had something else planned in April, but MSC canceled that cruise and allowed me to book one in August even though my Ocean Prime status expired in June. This post will focus primarily on the cruise experience, which was a mixed bag: The Diamond service and food were both surprisingly good; the ship itself was kind of boring (though we expected that), and the entertainment was surprisingly bad. But none of that is really relevant: We chose this cruise because of its port stops, and they were Impressive. I’m a bit skeptical about cruising the Caribbean, but after three cruises through Europe, I’m starting to become a real fan of cruising through Europe because it gives me the opportunity to explore destinations that probably would never have made it onto our list otherwise.

Podcast: Chris Hutchins’ favorite life hacks | Coffee Break Ep22 | 13.08.24

Speaking of lists, on this week’s Coffee Break we had Chris Hutchins (of All the Hacks) on to discuss some of his favorite ways to maximize in different areas. Both Greg and I were guests on his show and it was great to get the opportunity to share some of the things he’s learned in his quest to save money, have more time, and enjoy life.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review (2024)

The Venture X card is a workhorse that probably makes sense in many wallets as an “everywhere else” card that seems expensive at first glance but is easily worth more than its price tag. Slight “downgrades” to the benefits have brought the value down slightly, but I think this is still a very easy win for many people.

US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card Review (2024)

While I think the Venture X is probably a more exciting “everywhere else” card for many, the US Bank Altitude Reserve has been more or less my daily companion for the past few weeks as I traveled around Europe and now to Mauritius. Just this morning I stopped at a small market and pharmacy in a small town in Mauritius and was able to easily pay with my phone with a tap and earn 3x Altitude Reserve points that I will eventually use at 1.5 cents per point for a 4.5% return. I’ve also used my Savor One a bit to test places where it may or may not yield a food or “entertainment” bonus abroad, but if I wasn’t somehow the one writing about this stuff, I’d probably have a hard time deciding to take a gamble on 3x Capital One over known ~4.5% return with the Altitude Reserve. I think this card makes all the difference between people who should consider it and people who have it.

Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos, Canada: Conclusion (Hyatt Unbound Collection)

When Stephen mentioned he had reviewed this property, I had never heard of it or of Osoyoos, Canada, so I didn’t immediately think it would be of interest to me. Then I read the review and suddenly I was really curious. A one-bedroom condo with a full kitchen and washer/dryer along with a pool with a waterslide and an on-site winery with northern lights viewing starting at 12,000 points per night? That just went on my list.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Look out for this week Last chance offers.

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