Ep 001 – An Introduction to Miles and Points

/ Podcast / Ep 001 – An Introduction to Miles and Points

In the inaugural episode of Miles Ahead, hosts Reed and Josh, co-founders of Frugal Flyer, introduce their new podcast focused on travel, miles, and points from a Canadian perspective. Joined by Frugal Flyer contributors Danny and Jeff, they kick off with personal introductions and their journeys into the world of miles and points. 

The episode covers the beginning of a three-part introduction to miles and points, looking at different strategies, benefits, and key programs such as Air Canada Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy. They discuss the financial and logistical aspects of this hobby, touching on topics like credit card welcome bonuses, personal finance, and the importance of responsible financial habits.

To further illustrate the value of miles and points, the team reviews some of their favorite previous vacations and what travel they are looking forward to in addition to what they have booked for the rest of the year.

Finally, the team dives into recent updates in the world of travel loyalty programs, such as changes with PayPower, the new Hilton Honors and Small Luxury Hotels of the World partnership, and the new World of Hyatt collaboration with Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

(00:06) Welcome to Miles Ahead: Meet the Team

Introduction to podcast contributors: Reed (host), Josh (host), Danny, and Jeff.

(04:52) Introduction to Frugal Flyer

Frugal Flyer is a Canadian travel blog that can help you travel in greater comfort for less money through the usage of credit card rewards, miles, and points.

(06:15) Miles Ahead Podcast Overview

Miles Ahead will cover beginner, intermediate, and advanced miles and points strategies, news in the world of miles and points, and our experiences with miles and points.

(09:42) Understanding Miles and Points

What are miles and points and how can they benefit you?

(12:00) Benefits of Airport Lounges

Airport lounges make the time spent in an airport that much more enjoyable, and they are actually very easy to access through credit card benefits.

(14:54) Hotel Loyalty Programs & Perks

Hotel elite status earned through staying and other tricks results in great benefits such as complimentary breakfast, suite upgrades, late check-out, and more.

(16:55) Credit Card Benefits

Credit cards come with some amazing travel benefits, including travel insurance and no foreign transaction fees.

(20:38) How Banks Profit from Loyalty Programs

The hobby of miles and points can seem too good to be true, but there are rational economic factors that drive credit card welcome bonuses. Bonuses are an acquisition cost, a way for banks to acquire long-term profitable customers. Competition between banks can result in stellar offers, benefitting us miles and points enthusiasts.

(28:09) Loyalty Programs to Focus On in Canada

Frequent flyer, hotel loyalty, bank loyalty, and retailer loyalty programs are all available for Canadians to benefit from.

(29:07) Top Frequent Flyer Programs in Canada

Air Canada Aeroplan & WestJet Rewards are the two top players in the frequent flyer space in Canada. Both have their utilities and in a perfect world you can benefit from both, but Air Canada Aeroplan is the more valuable program of the two.

(32:09) Exploring Hotel Loyalty Programs in Canada

Marriott Bonvoy is the only real option for Canadians as there are only two co-branded hotel cards in Canada: the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card and the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business card.

(34:38) Bank-Affiliated Loyalty Programs

Every major financial institution in Canada offers an in-house loyalty currency to build customer loyalty with the bank.

(36:29) Other Canadian Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs exist for many businesses in Canada, including grocery stores and gas stations. Any Canadian can participate in these programs and the benefits can be increased by holding a related co-branded credit card.

(40:02) Favorite Trips and Upcoming Travel Plans

The team recaps some of their favorite previous travels and looks forward to the vacations they have planned for the year ahead.

(47:56) PayPower and Manufactured Spending

PayPower has gone fully digital, and their prepaid Mastercard is one of the best ways to meet minimum spending requirements.

(53:39) Changes to Hilton and Hyatt Hotel Programs

We’ve seen a shake-up in the hotel loyalty program landscape, with Hilton Honors partnering with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and World of Hyatt partnering with Mr and Mrs Smith.

(59:13) Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

Submit episode-specific questions on the episode page.

Join us for the next episode, where we’ll get into the basics of earning miles and points!

Leave a Comment


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

10 comments on “Ep 001 – An Introduction to Miles and Points”

  1. Great first episode. How often are new episodes going to be out?

    Also, I have question about how to obtain the most amount of Aeroplan points in a year, as Aeroplan has stopped customers from getting Welcome bonus from multiple Aeroplan credit card issuers. Im not sure if aeroplan is enforcing this new rule or not but can the team give some insight on this?

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Mike,
      Glad to hear you enjoyed! At least once per month, but we may shift to more frequently in the future.
      As far as Aeroplan is concerned, we have definitely shifted somewhat to focusing on earning MR from Amex cards in both Canada and the US.
      Other cobranded Aeroplan cards may still be worth exploring but not to the same extent as was allowed previously.

      Reply

      • So for the amex cards do you reach minimum spend for the welcome bonus then covert those amex points to aeroplan points?

        Also can Amex cards be churned?

        I’ve listen to the first podcast twice now. THANKS!!

        Reply

        • Hey Mike – appreciate the support!
          It depends. For most of us Aeroplan would be the default. Its a versatile program. But I typically don’t transfer immediately unless I know I’m going to make a redemption soon, my amex card is expiring, or my Aeroplan balance is low and I know I will need more points in the future.
          There are other airline partners you can transfer to from Amex Canada (see Transfer Partner Tool). So there may be niche situations where transferring to a different airline program fits your needs. For instance I recently transferred a good chunk of Amex MR to Cathay Pacific to redeem a flight to Asia (article).
          There is also British Airways Avios which is a very useful program, however these can be earned relatively easily via RBC Avion, so I would typically not transfer Amex points to that program.

          Reply

        • Also – no unfortunately you can only receive the bonus on an Amex card once per lifetime. There are some rare exceptions, particularly with Amex USA, which we’ll cover in future episodes.

          Reply

          • Thanks for the information im learning alot!!!

            For the Amex cards would the cobalt be the best choice as the AF is low compared to their business cards,gold and platinum?

            Just getting into paypower now, Would you use paypower reloading them at grocery stores to collect the 5x MR?

            Thanks again

          • Hey Mike,
            It’s a great starting card and one to keep long term as well. Cobalt is a good category spending card, while some of the more premium cards can be good to earn a large chunk of points all at once. We discuss this in detail in the next episode actually.
            Yes that is correct regarding PayPower.

          • Thanks Reed for the information.

            Should I go ahead and apply for the AMEX cobalt card or wait for the next episode to come out to hear a better strategy ?

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. For complete and current information, please consult the entity's website.