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Point Me To First Class

Devon Gimbel MD

Point Me to First Class is a show for employed professionals, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and business owners with higher-than-average personal and/or business expenses who want to learn to leverage them into credit card points to spend on travel. Your expenses are your greatest untapped asset - but learning how to use them to travel the world doesn't have to be confusing or complicated.

Each week, Devon Gimbel shares valuable tips, tools, and strategies to help you uplevel your skills earning and redeeming credit card points and shows you how to spend them on incredible travel experiences.

Interested in learning more about working with Devon? Visit www.pointmetofirstclass.com to learn more.

This podcast is for you if you find yourself asking questions like:
How do I earn credit card points and use them for travel?
How can I make my expenses benefit me?
How can I earn as many credit card points for as little spending as possible?
How to maximize value from credit card points.
How to earn credit card points for travel.
Turn credit card points into travel.

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34 episodes
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Avg 53 min
English

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Yesterday · 31 min
193. Shopping Portal Superstacking: How to Earn Points Three Ways on One Purchase
In the two weeks around Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year, I earned over 335,000 points from online shopping portals alone. That's roughly the value of two credit card welcome bonuses, earned on shopping I was going to do anyway, without opening a single new account. And with card approvals getting harder to come by, learning to squeeze more out of everyday online spending has gone from a nice bonus to a real strategy. Doing that well comes down to three strategies: the simple habit most people skip, a gift card technique that can multiply your earnings several times over, and a more advanced move I call super stacking that turned a single purchase into 29 times the points. These strategies work all year, but they shine during the holiday shopping period, when portal rates hit their highest of the year. If any of your holiday shopping is happening online, this is the episode that turns it into a serious points opportunity. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/how-to-stack-shopping-portals Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
November 2 · 1 hr
192. What the Data Reveals About Earning More Points with Shopping Portals and Card-Linked Offers
Your favorite shopping portal may not be the best one to always use, and millions of data points can prove it. My guest is Avneesh Kohli, the founder of SaveWise, a tool I use literally every day to find the best points-earning opportunity for whatever I'm about to buy. Beyond helping with individual purchases, SaveWise has indexed tens of millions of shopping portal rates and card-linked offers across thousands of merchants, which means Avneesh can see patterns in this world that no individual shopper ever could. And some of what he's found challenges things the points community has long taken as true. Avneesh and I get into which shopping portals the data says deliver the most value, some of which will surprise you, and the single best day of the week to shop online if you want the highest rates. We dig into what the numbers reveal about card-linked offers, including which issuers quietly offer the best deals and where the real value is hiding. And because we're heading into the biggest points-earning season of the year, he shares what the data says about shopping smart around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you use shopping portals and card-linked offers, even casually, this is the episode that will make you better at it. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/best-shopping-portals-points-data Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
October 26 · 53 min
191. The Southwest Companion Pass Shakeup: What's Changing and What to Do Now
The way almost everyone has earned the Southwest Companion Pass is about to disappear, and the window to still do it the old way is closing. For years, the Companion Pass has been one of the most valuable, and most reachable, perks in points and miles, a buy-one-get-one on nearly every Southwest flight that can be worth thousands of dollars. Then Southwest announced a sweeping overhaul of its Rapid Rewards program, and starting January 1, 2027, the companion pass works on completely different rules. My returning guest, Katie of Katie's Travel Tricks, has taught people how to earn this pass for years, and she's here to break down exactly what's changing and what it means for you. Katie and I get into why these changes gut the strategy most people have relied on, why Southwest's own framing of the news is more spin than substance, and the narrow window that still exists this year to earn a companion pass under the old rules, if you act in time. We also take on the bigger question, whether chasing a companion pass still makes sense at all going forward, and what to do instead if it doesn't. If earning a Southwest Companion Pass has been anywhere on your radar, this is the episode to hear before you make your next move. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/southwest-companion-pass-changes Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
October 19 · 28 min
190. Mind the Cap: How to Avoid Dropping From 5x Points to 1x
There's a good chance one of your best rewards cards quietly stopped paying its full bonus rate months ago, and never said a word about it. It's called a bonus category spending cap, and more of the cards you carry probably have one than you'd expect. These limits are one of the quietest ways to leave points on the table, and they catch even seasoned points travelers off guard. In this episode, I walk through which popular cards have these caps and which don't, how to tell whether you're close to hitting one, and what to do when you are, because there are more ways around a cap than most people realize. The goal isn't to collect more cards for the sake of it, it's to keep the money you're already spending earning at the rate you signed up for. If you've ever picked a card for one great category and funneled all your spending to it, this episode will help you make sure those points are still landing where you think they are. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/credit-card-spending-caps Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
October 12 · 46 min
189. The Hotel Points Program You're Probably Overlooking: ALL Accor with Dr. Suzanne Manzi
One of the most useful hotel programs in my wallet right now is also the most boring, and that turns out to be exactly why it works. That program is Accor, and it tends to get overlooked in the points world, often by the very people who would get the most out of it. My guest, Dr. Suzanne Manzi, is the one who got me paying attention to it, and she knows the program inside and out. We talk through what makes Accor so different from the hotel programs most of us default to, why its quietest qualities turn out to be its most useful ones, and the kinds of trips where it has come through for me when my usual strategy couldn't. If you travel internationally, travel with a family, or just want a dependable backup for the moments your favorite program comes up empty, I think you'll finish this one seeing Accor very differently. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/accor-points-explained Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
October 5 · 31 min
188. The Transferable Points Report Card: Grading Every Currency on Points Sharing
You can have a small fortune in points between two people and still not be able to book the trip you want. That's the trap this episode is built to help you avoid. Combining or sharing points with a partner, a spouse, or a family member sounds like it should be simple, but every points currency plays by its own rules, and a couple of them won't let you share points with someone else at all. Knowing which is which, well before you've found the award you want to book, turns out to be one of the quietest but most important parts of planning travel with another person. I walk through all six major transferable currencies: Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, and Rove, and grade each one on how easily it lets you combine points with someone else. Not all of them pass. More useful than the grades, though, is what to do about them, the setup worth doing now so the points you've earned together are usable when the trip you want finally appears. If you earn points with a spouse, a partner, or anyone you travel with, this is the housekeeping that keeps you from finding out too late that half your points are stranded in the wrong account. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/combine-credit-card-points-with-partner Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
September 28 · 50 min
187. Atmos Rewards Explained: Alaska Airlines' Loyalty Program, Partners, and Best Uses
Some of the most valuable miles in award travel belong to a program most people have written off. For years, Alaska Airlines miles were easy to overlook, and unless you lived in Alaska or flew the airline often, you probably had little reason to think about them. My guest, Betsey Wilson of Become Travel Rich and Alaska Airlines University, has spent more than two decades in this program and knows it better than anyone I know. As she explains, the real value of these miles, now part of the revamped Atmos Rewards program, shows up somewhere most people never look. Betsey and I get into why this program has been so easy to dismiss, why that's been a mistake, and what makes it, in her words, one of the most generous loyalty programs out there. She shares where she's still finding standout value, which redemptions have gotten harder, and how to think about the Atmos credit cards and elite status without getting lost in the fine print. If you've ever looked at Alaska miles and decided this program wasn't for you, this conversation might change your mind. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/atmos-rewards-alaska-miles Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
September 21 · 1 hr 19 min
186. Around the World in Five Days: How We Reverse-Engineered an Epic Award Trip
Planning an entire trip around one airline seat is a backwards way to travel, and every so often it's exactly the right one. My friend Andrea and I have wanted to fly first-class Singapore Airlines Suites on the A380 for years. When we two award seats on their newest first class on a long-haul flight, we built a five-day trip around the world around them, five flights, and almost no regard for where any of it landed on a map. What follows is the whole story, the planning, the flying, and the frankly ridiculous decision-making it took to pull it off. We get into how a trip like this comes together, why it turns the usual way of planning award travel on its head, and whether spending this many points on a few days of flying was worth it. You'll also hear our candid take on every cabin we flew, where we agreed, where we didn't, and which experiences lived up to the hype. Whether Singapore Suites is already on your wish list or you just want a fresh way to think about award travel, my hope is you come away seeing that a dream flight doesn't have to wait for the stars to align over your home airport. Listen in as you learn that sometimes the smartest move is to grab the seat when it appears and let the rest of the trip take shape around it. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/singapore-suites-around-the-world Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
September 14 · 57 min
185. Which Points Get Your Family to Asia in Business Class?
Collecting a big pile of points is not the same as being able to book the flights your family wants. That gap shows up nowhere more clearly than when you're trying to get your whole family into business class to Asia. This week my guest is Maria Fung, founder of Maria Points the Way, who helps families use points and miles to reach Asia and Asia-Pacific. When Maria moved from Hong Kong to the US, she did everything the points world tells you to do, and soon found it wasn't getting her family home in the cabins she wanted. That led her to build a completely different approach, one that reverses the usual order, starting with the exact trip you want and working back to the points that get you there. Maria and I get into why this goal trips up so many families, and why the usual points playbook quietly works against you here. She walks through the destination-first approach she built, a framework she calls the ASIA Method, and the shifts that make several premium seats far more attainable than they look. Whether Asia is an occasional trip to see relatives or a business class dream that has felt out of reach, you'll come away thinking about the whole thing differently. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/family-award-travel-to-asia Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
September 7 · 39 min
184. Hotel Planner Points: How to Earn Points for Any Event
Some of the biggest points opportunities have nothing to do with your credit card at all. It turns out hotels quietly reward the person who books an event with them, a conference, a retreat, a wedding, a family reunion, and most people have no idea. They're called planner points. To unpack them, I sat down with Rachel Posada Fletcher, who spent years as an event manager negotiating exactly these kinds of hotel contracts. And the best part is you don't have to plan events for a living to earn and benefit from planner points. Tapping into this points earning potential comes down to simply knowing the opportunity is there and being willing to ask for it. Rachel gets into how these rewards work, the ways a single event can pay off on more than one front, and what she wishes more people understood before signing a hotel contract. If you run a business, help pull together events at work, or have a big celebration on the horizon, I think you'll finish this one seeing your next gathering as more than just an expense. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/hotel-planner-points Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
August 31 · 1 hr 16 min
183. Is the Bilt Palladium Card Worth It? A Six-Month Review of Bilt 2.0
Six months ago, Bilt rebuilt its entire rewards program, including releasing the new premium Palladium card with its promise of earning transferable points on rent and even mortgage payments, drawing a lot of attention in the points world. Today we are following up on what it's actually been like to carry and use the Bilt Palladium card now that the shine has worn off and real life has set in. Kelly and I have almost identical points philosophies, which is exactly why it's so much fun that Bilt is where we split. She loves this card without reservation. I have a full love-hate relationship with mine, and over the course of the conversation we get into why, where the card has delivered, where it quietly drives me up a wall, and how two people who want the same things from points can land in such different places on the same card. Whether you already carry a Bilt card, you're weighing whether the Palladium belongs in your wallet, or you just enjoy hearing two friends disagree in good faith. I think you'll come away with a much clearer sense of who this card is for, and whether that's you. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/bilt-palladium-card-review Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
August 24 · 56 min
182. Behind the Scenes of seats.aero with Keith Van
Have you ever wondered what your award search tool can see that you can't? My guest this week is Keith Van, who leads community at seats.aero, one of the award search platforms I reach for most. What made this so fun for me is that his team sees something the rest of us never do. They can watch how travelers everywhere are searching for award space all at once, which means they notice patterns in demand and in availability that none of us could piece together alone, and a few of the ones Keith shared upended assumptions I didn't know I was holding. We also get into the part of these tools that trips people up the most, the gap between what a search shows you and what you can book right now, and how to protect yourself before you move your points. And Keith pulls back the curtain on how a platform like this works, from why it can see some airlines and not others to the features longtime users walk right past. Whether you've never opened an award search tool or you consider yourself a power user, I think you'll finish this one seeing these platforms, and the data underneath them, differently. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/seats-aero-award-search-data Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
August 17 · 33 min
181. The Two Ways to Search for Award Flights, and Why You Need Both
Have you ever run an award search, come up empty, and quietly wondered whether the flights you want are even out there? That frustration usually comes down to one thing, and it isn't that the flights don't exist. It's that most of us were never taught how to search for them well. In this episode I break down two ways to search for award flights outside your credit card travel portal, where transferring points to airline partners can turn a one to one-and-a-half cent point into two, five, even ten cents of value, and why knowing how to search is the skill that unlocks all of it. I get into both, the method most people lean on without realizing what it quietly misses, and the older, more hands-on approach that still turns up availability those tools can't see. Each one has real strengths and a few blind spots, and learning when to reach for which is what separates the searches that come up empty from the ones that end with a trip booked. Whether you've leaned entirely on search tools and keep coming up short, or you're a confident manual searcher who has written those tools off, my hope is you walk away seeing why the best award searches use both, and where the flights you've been missing have been hiding all along. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/how-to-search-for-award-flights Enrollment for Points Made Easy is open! Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the course here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
August 10 · 18 min
180. Estimating Your Points Earning Potential: What Your Expenses Are Worth
Have you ever wondered whether there's still travel value hiding inside the expenses you already have, points you could be earning but aren't, with no real way to know for sure? That's one of the few questions in this hobby I've never been able to answer for you, and it's probably one you've quietly wondered about yourself. We have a rough way to gauge how well we redeem points, our cents per point at least gives us a benchmark, but there has never been a clean way to know whether the expenses you already have are earning a fraction of the points they could. So in this episode I get into why earning potential is so hard to pin down, why two people who spend the same amount can have completely different potential, and the difference between an optimized card portfolio and a maximized one. Listen as I introduce the first version of a tool I built to take a crack at it, the Hidden Travel Budget Calculator. You give it your annual spend across a handful of categories, and it shows you how many points your expenses could earn, what those points could be worth in travel, and how much of that potential you're capturing right now. Whether you're newer to points and wondering if it's even worth it for the expenses you have, or you've been at this a while and just want to know how much room you have left, my hope is you come away seeing the opportunity that might still be sitting inside the spending you already do. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/points-earning-potential Want to see how much spending could be hiding in your own expenses? Try the Hidden Travel Budget Calculator here: https://points.pointmetofirstclass.com/discover-your-hidden-travel-budget Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
August 3 · 1 hr 9 min
179. Listener Q&A: Real Points Decisions, The Case for Chase, and New Award Sweet Spot
Have you ever had a points question where every source online seems to contradict the last, and what you really want is for someone to walk you through how to actually decide? In this listener Q&A episode, I'm answering the questions you have sent in on everything from choosing your next credit card and where to credit your cash-paid flights to which Hyatt award is worth using, when. But the biggest topic I dig into is the Chase change to how its points transfer to Hyatt, and what that should, and shouldn't, change about the cards you already hold. Listen in as I compare the Bilt Palladium and the Capital One Venture X, work through whether it's worth moving Chase points to Hyatt before the transfer ratio drops in October. And I talk about a brand-new Philippine Airlines award option, now bookable through Qatar, that opens up direct routes to Manila that used to be almost impossible on points. Whether you're deciding on your next card or sitting on a pile of points you're not sure what to do with, this episode gives you both the specific answers and a clearer way to think through your own decisions. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/credit-card-points-qa Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Points Made Easy is opening for enrollment soon, from August 15 - August 23, 2026. Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist now to have first dibs on enrollment: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
July 27 · 53 min
178. How to Earn Points on Your Savings, Not Just Your Spending
If you've ever looked at the cash sitting in an emergency fund, a business account, or your tax reserves and wished it could earn travel points the way your spending does, this conversation is for you. For as long as I've been earning points and miles, one piece has been missing. We've gotten very good at earning points on the money we spend, but almost no one has offered a way to earn transferable points on the money we save. That's what made Symphony worth a close look, and I sat down with co-founder James Berry to understand how it works. Upfront: this isn't a recommendation and it isn't sponsored. I opened an account myself to see it firsthand, I do have an affiliate relationship with Symphony, and my goal is the same as always, to give you enough to decide for yourself. We get into how the platform actually works, the fixed rate you earn and whether you take it as cash, as points, or a split of both. We also spend real time on the questions worth asking before putting money anywhere new, why it isn't FDIC insured, how the risks weigh against the rewards, and who it fits versus who should stay away. And we close on the bigger question underneath it all, whether saving could become a new way to earn points alongside spending. Whether you decide it's for you or you'd rather watch from the sidelines for now, the approach is the same, understand it first, then make the call that fits your own goals and risk tolerance. Earn up to 5,000 bonus points for opening and funding a new Symphony account: join.symphony.io/devon Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/earn-points-on-savings-symphony Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy Some links in these show notes are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
July 20 · 1 hr 26 min
177. Mid-Year Points & Miles Review 2026: The 6 Changes That Matter Most
If you've been paying attention to points and miles this year and something has felt off, like the ground keeps shifting under the rules you thought you understood, you are not imagining it. I'm joined again by my good friend and points expert, Kevin Zanes, to make sense of it all. We are hitting pause at the halfway mark of the year to ask what the biggest stories in points, miles, and award travel have really been so far, and more importantly, what those changes tell us about where this whole hobby is headed. This year hasn't just brought the usual devaluations we all expect. It has brought step changes big enough to make both of us reconsider strategies we've relied on for years. Kevin and I each picked our top three stories and compared notes. We get into the Hyatt award chart overhaul and whether chasing Globalist status still makes sense, the new Qatar restrictions on booking award flights for family and friends, the three new Bilt cards and how they reshuffled where our everyday spend goes, and the way United is now tying its best award space and discounts to holding a co-branded card. I also walk through the Chase change I'm most worried about, a differential transfer ratio to Hyatt that depends on which card you hold, and why I think it could open a floodgate. Listen in as we spend just as much time looking forward as back, on super currencies, newer players like Symphony and Rove, and the rise of the co-branded airline card as a value multiplier. Whether you've been collecting points for a decade or you just opened your first card, this one is less about the headlines and more about reading the trends underneath them, so you can decide where your own time and attention are actually worth spending for the rest of the year. Earn up to 5,000 bonus points for opening and funding a new Symphony account here. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/2026-points-miles-mid-year-review Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy *Some links in these show notes are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
July 13 · 1 hr 11 min
176. Two Points Experts, Two Takes on Park Hyatt Cabo and Alila Mayakoba
If you've been eyeing one of Hyatt's newer Mexico resorts and wondering whether it's actually worth your points, you're not alone. I'm joined this week by Michele from Fancy Travel Pointers, and the two of us have both separately stayed at Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol and Alila Mayakoba within the last six months. Instead of each doing a solo review, we decided to sit down and compare notes, since we booked, stayed, and experienced both properties independently and didn't come away agreeing on everything. We walk through exactly how we each booked these stays in points, what room categories and upgrades we landed, and how the two resorts stack up on rooms, pools, dining, and service. I talk about the exceptional pool service and an unexpected ear-piercing emergency at Park Hyatt Cabo, and Michele shares why the lagoon side sold her on Alila Mayakoba over the beach. We also get into the dining misses at both properties, whether either one has a kids' club, and how Hyatt's newly changed award chart is reshaping whether a category 8 redemption like Park Hyatt Cabo still makes sense going forward. Michele also weighs in on how both properties compare to the neighboring Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, long considered the pinnacle points redemption in the area. Whether you've got one of these resorts on your wish list or you're just trying to figure out where your Hyatt points go furthest right now, this conversation should help you decide. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/park-hyatt-cabo-vs-alila-mayakoba Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
July 6 · 1 hr 8 min
175. Why Aeroplan Belongs in Every Traveler's Award Strategy
Have you ever transferred miles into a program and then realized you only ever use it to book the same handful of flights everyone else does? Air Canada Aeroplan might be the most useful airline program that US travelers consistently overlook, and after this conversation I think you'll see why so many experienced points and miles enthusiasts treat it as a core part of their strategy. Today I'm talking with Anshul Singh of Points, Miles, and Bling, who has spent years inside the Aeroplan ecosystem and has used it to book everything from business class to Europe to trips most people never imagine points can unlock. Anshul and I get into why Aeroplan hits a rare balance between being easy to use and deep enough to reward the people who dig in, and why its network of close to 50 airline partners is where the real opportunity lives. Listen as we talk about the overlooked partner bookings most travelers walk right past, like Brussels Airlines business class out of Washington Dulles and Emirates and Air Mauritius routes you would never expect through a Star Alliance program, how Aeroplan's stopover rules let you build a single ticket that visits more than one place, and the Hotel Savers chart that points airline miles at high-end hotels like Six Senses and Fairmont. We also cover the smart way to think about buying Aeroplan points around a promotion, and my favorite part of the whole conversation, how the same program that flies you to Europe can take you to see polar bears in Churchill, the northern lights over the Canadian Arctic, and whale pods up and down both coasts. Whether you're brand new to Aeroplan or you've transferred miles into it before and never looked past the obvious flights, this episode will change how you see the whole program. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/air-canada-aeroplan-strategy Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
June 29 · 42 min
174. United MileagePlus Upgrade Awards: How to Book Polaris for Less Cash and Miles
If you've ever looked at United Polaris business class prices and thought they were completely out of reach, you're not alone. They can be outrageously expensive to book whether you're eyeing paying cash or points. But what if there was a third path - something between paying full cash for a premium ticket and redeeming a massive amount of miles outright? Miguel Rueda, from the Let's Get to the Points podcast, shares about a strategy within the United loyalty program that most travelers either don't know about or completely overlook. It's called a Mileage Plus Upgrade Award, and understanding how it works fundamentally changes what's possible when you're flexible with dates and routes. Miguel and I discuss what these awards actually are, how they differ from traditional award bookings, what PZ space means and why it matters for this strategy, and how to search for and confirm these upgrades. We walk through the specific mechanics of how this works, the tools you'll need, how to enable expert mode on United's platform, and the step-by-step booking process. We also explore when this strategy offers exceptional value and which routes and regions consistently show the strongest availability for premium cabin seats. Whether you have United miles, transferable points you can move into United, or just a willingness to mix a little cash with your miles, this episode reveals how multiple Polaris seats can be available on a single flight—a game-changer for families and groups that have struggled to find premium cabin availability elsewhere. Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/united-mileageplus-upgrade-awards Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy

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