MtM Podcast Episode 200 Reunion!
In this 200th episode of the podcast Mark Ostermann makes his triumphant return to chat with Shawn and Joe about his recent travels including bar hopping Manhattan, staying in Jersey and if the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay holds up as a family destination.
We also discuss travel FOMO and how it has become such a huge part of our society. Plus we dive into some recent happenings that are a good reminder of why we must all know our limits and how we must manage our risk as we pursue more miles & points. Can the pursuit of miles & points become an addiction and how can you protect yourself from disaster?
I hope you enjoy this episode!
Episode Guide
Mark Ostermann from Travel on Points and original podcast co-host returns for our 200th episode!
4:39 – Joe’s Nordstrom adventures
10:38 – NYC bar hop
19:01 – Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay
28:24 – Exposure and risk in the miles and points game (Reddit thread)
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Thanks for listening, reading and watching! If you enjoy Las Vegas be sure to check out our MtM Vegas YouTube channel and Vegas podcast.
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This was a great episode Shawn & it was great to hear Mark back on the podcast. The group & issues discussed for the last half of the show: I think maybe you guys misinterpreted the blogger criticisms that were circulating (or perhaps we just read different things). There was a Twitter thread criticizing bloggers not really for participating and/or recruiting in the shady group we won’t mention, but for obfuscating the sources & methods they use to obtain large numbers of points.
I don’t think your blog falls into this category but there are others that will write about the best ‘3-card wallet’ and then fly 5 members of the staff in international first class Instagram-ing all the way. These things are not congruent. You cannot fly a family of 5 in F by maximizing a 3x multiplier on dining (well, legit dining anyway) or with 2.625% cash back. Those points came from somewhere & large scale MS techniques were certainly involved. All of that is fine but without disclosing how those points were actually earned it gives a false sense of easy lux to people who simply don’t know any better. That’s what I took away from the criticisms that were circulating.
@ Parts Unknown — Those 5 one- ANA F tickets cost 275,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, which could be earned from two Plat AMEX signups and the required $15,000 spend x 2. Even better, with an AMEX to Virgin 30% transfer bonus, those 5 tickets could have been obtained for just 211,600 AMEX points. None of what Frequen Miler is doing is inconcrugent with earning 3x on dining. You are missing the real fruit. It isn’t in the day-to-day spend, but in the signup bonuses.