Miles to Go - Travel Tips, News & Reviews You Can't Afford to Miss!

Ed checks into the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and gets treated like a king.  Big upgrade as a result of his Marriott status! Richard and Ed talk about American Airlines' new international route announcements .  Does this mean more opportunites to use your miles? Hyatt has rolled out new ways to combine free nights with award reservations.  Ed and Richard are breaking down the changes and how they c...

Ed is back from Billund, Denmark and has the details on Lego House.  TLDR: it's not just for kids! This week's epsiode is sponsored by NordVPN.  Both Ed and Richard use NordVPN.  Download NordVPN now and enjoy a 50% discount on an annual mobile subscription. Here's why Ed and Richard use NordVPN: Protects your privacy and blocks malicious websites. Helps you stream your favorite content (live spor...

It was 36 hours of ups and downs.....well, pretty much downs for Ed on United this week.  Richard and Ed discuss some interesting Marriott offers that expire today .   If you're looking for a way to support the show, consider joining our Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, s...

Watch the podcast on YouTube! We start out catching up on Richard's quick trip to London which involved the old A330 business class product on Virgin Atlantic and Richard's first time experiencing Polaris Class on United.  Is Richard committed to United Airlines now? Many of you wrote into the show asking for more details on Ed's recent trip to Nova Scotia, so we're digging into that as well.  Che...

Watch the podcast on YouTube! We start the show digging in to a listener review about how Ed and Richard feel about Marriott's loyalty program. The big news of the week is  Marriott swooping in to take over Hyatt's relationship with MGM Resorts .  Ed and Richard are sharing their thoughts on what we know so far. If you're looking for a way to support the show, consider joining our Slack Community....

Watch the video version of the podcast!   Hyatt and MGM are breaking up .  The TSA has made announcements that may spell the end of Clear in its current format.  Ed is recapping his family vacation and Richard is recapping his latest Dream hotel stay. If you're looking for a way to support the show, consider joining our Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly a...

Is this the best Marriott award redemption we've ever seen?  Ed and Richard are discussing a deal for an all-inclusive safari that you can redeem Marriott points for. Chase has a new Aeroplan offer that's an interesting way to earn 100K Aeroplan points.  At the same time there are also offers for certain Chase Ink cards for 100K Ultimate Rewards points.  We're discussing all of that this week. If...

Watch this week's episode on YouTube! Ed is still in Hawaii.  Richard is getting his opinion on the first part of his trip including recaps of Aulani, Kauai, The Lodge at Kukui'ula and more.  There's also an interesting Hilton status challenge right now.  Aggressive, but rewarding.  Rirchard and Ed are breaking it down. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Co...

Watch this week's episode on YouTube! Ed is still in Hawaii.  Richard is getting his opinion on the first part of his trip including recaps of Aulani, Kauai, The Lodge at Kukui'ula and more.  There's also an interesting Hilton status challenge right now.  Aggressive, but rewarding.  Rirchard and Ed are breaking it down. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Co...

Watch this week's episode on YouTube! Summer Hull is joining us to talk about her recent Alaska cruise on Disney Cruise Lines. We're also talking about recent Marriott news that seems to indicate they'll be making their suite upgrade process better for elite members. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access...

Richard is out of town this week so Howie is stepping in to his seat.  Howie is a kick-ass travel agent who understands the points and miles world.  Drop him a line at info@rewardsmith.com if you need help with travel! A listener writes in to ask our opinion about Bask Bank AA mileage earning. American Airlines has announced that elite members will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on award t...

We start out this episode hearing about Ed's recent trip to Newport, Rhode Island where he stayed at a new (to Hyatt) property, The Pell .  Is this property ready for prime time. Next up we're discussing the spread of United's award price increases worldwide .  The price of "free" travel has definitely gone up.  If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Community....

QUICK!  Before the day (June 1st) runs out, make sure you claim your free points from Bilt Rent Day . Richard has been busy applying for a new AMEX Biz Plat card. We discuss the news that government ruled that American and JetBlue need to break up.  For real? And, we explore whether Richard is going to stay a United elite member or not. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launch...

Richard is back from his trip to Punta Cana.  He survived, but just barely.  He'll fill us in on (most of) the gory details. There are plenty of reports that United's award pricing has noticeably increased . We don't quibble with that assertion, we just don't think it was an overnight thing.  "Saver" inventory has been very tough to find on United for quite some time. Meanwhile, Ed is wading deepe...

Richard is on his way to Punta Cana.  We start off with a look at the Dream Hotel, a hotel in NYC that is newly affiliated with Hyatt.  Richard stayed there last week and has the details.  Spoiler alert: you might need Ed's white noise machine to survive. Ed visits the Capital One Lounge in DFW for the first time and shares his impressions. American Airlines has started offering reduced pricing on...

A lot to cover this week. Both Richard and Ed were able to take advantage of the latest Bilt promotion to book trips to Europe.  Let's see how they made out. IHG is making breakfast worse for elite members .  How bad is the change? Universal Orlando has a pretty sweet ticket deal right now. Capital One has a massive sign-up bonus for the Venture X, but should you consider it? And, Richard wants yo...

Richard and Ed connected at the Freddies and recap all of this year's winners . They're also discussing Bilt's most recent Rent Day .  But, the biggest news of the day is Hyatt's acquisition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith .  There are still plenty of questions, but this could be huge for Hyatt's luxury lodging portfolio. Ed locks up lifetime Hilton Diamond status and gets a pretty nice gift in the mail to co...

We're covering a bunch of ground this week, including following Richard to Europe.  He's breakng down Virgin Atlantic's new business class product, his first stay at Hyatt Regency Churchill in London and getting a little vulnerable with the audience. We're also breaking down BILT Dining, which can earn you up to 11 miles per dollar on Rent Day if you have the Bilt Mastercard . Even without the car...

We're all over the board on topics today.  Thanks to two helpful listeners for helping us understand Delta's standby list.  In a word, it's useless.  However, as they increase their overbooking strategy, you can get paid cash to take a later flight.  A lot of cash. We're also digging into Ed's Hawaii planning as well, though he's nowhere near done planning the trip. And, we're both very perplexed...

We're following Richard around the country as he tries to impersonate another passenger, almsot gets shafted by Delta, has fun at Disney and joins a travel meetup in Dallas. We're also finding out why Ed is nerding out on a recent discovery about United Airlines. And, we're still trying to figure out if American Airlines actually made any changes based on a recent announcement . If you're looking...

Richard grabs the yoke from Ed and runs this week's episode.  We're digging into United Airlines' invite-only Global Services status.  How did Ed get a Global Services invitation?  Is it worth it?  If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual...

Why not start the episode with the best Hyatt status challenge I can recall?  20 nights to earn top-tier Globalist status with no other strings attached?  Richard is bringing the happy to Rent Day again this month. At the same time, Capital One continues it's quest for death by a thousand cuts .  They've eliminated some valuable redemption options from Capital One Shopping.  Has this platform, onc...

Richard applies for multiple credit cards and still appears to be in limbo.  Ed is grabbing a new cash back card that may be one of the best to put in your pocket right now. Citi has a new booking platform that Thank You Points fans may life.  United has some widebody planes where elites can grab "first class" (international premium economy) seats for free. And, Richard gets vulnerable with the au...

We start the show with Richard trying to apply for a credit card.  Suspense ensues while we wait for the reply.  Ed gets trapped in an elevator at Disney.  And, the guys take time to discuss the recent Hyatt award category changes. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we've launched a new Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly access Annual access...

We have a special guest this week who hasn't been on the show in quite some time.  And, like most bougie former Los Angeles residents, even has a podcasting couch that he seems pretty attached to.  Zach Abel from Monkey Miles joins the show to talk about some incredible award redemptions he was able to make recently.  We're definitely jealous of his travel. Richard also drops a really awesome anno...