Show notes
Greg and Nick have been consumed with last-minute travel the last week and a half so it's great timing for them to summarize 10 important tips for last-minute award travel. (01:17) - Standing ovation for the annual challenge! (Mailbag) (06:43) - Annual Challenge recap and overview Watch the Stage 1 recap video here: https://youtu.be/bMt_NfuuINI?feature=shared Watch the Stage 2 recap video here: https://youtu.be/gyJPtTZN1EE?feature=shared Watch the Stage 3 recap video here: https://youtu.be/HTmEAicB3dw?feature=shared (34:15) - Curve overview (Card Talk) Find out more here: https://www.curve.com/en-us (37:56) - Hilton SLH integrated testing phase (Award Talk) (40:26) - Preferred Hotels / Choice devaluation (55K to 87K) (Award Talk) (42:34) - Aero plan credit card & elite members status match to iPrefer Titanium (before June 28) (Award Talk) (44:18) - Book Oman Air w/ Flying Blue miles (Award Talk) (44:30) - Book El Al with Virgin points (Award Talk) (44:51) - Points Path adds support for Air Canada & Alaska Airlines (Award Talk) Main Event: Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel (47:00) - General advice (52:38) - Great awards often open last minute (ex: Lufthansa first) (57:16) - Diversify. Having different types of points and miles helps. (58:28) - Become adept at award search tools. Huge time saver. (1:00:26) - Don’t rely entirely on award search tools. They don’t catch everything (no Virgin Atlantic on a couple, no BA / QR Avios, didn’t see LifeMiles for my redemption, etc) (1:03:41) - Consider keeping stashes in programs you use often. This only applies if you have a lot of points and miles, but it could help avoid a failed transfer. (1:05:27) - Watch out for transfer times (1:08:10) - Get a good VPN. I wonder if some of my problems could have been averted if I’d used one all along. (1:11:22) - Know that Aeroplan’s contact center isn’t 24/7. This can be a big pain when you’re overseas. (1:12:37) - Beware the phantom menace. Tons of Swiss space that isn’t real. (1:17:02) - Have some tricks up your sleeve. This could alternatively be called "persistence pays off". Don’t give up right away. Examples include searching Avianca’s site multiple ways, forcing a stopover with Aeroplan to get a flight to show up, booking a refundable something as a backup, etc. (1:20:10) - How do you go about finding activities while you travel? (Question of the Week)
