MilesHusband

06/15/2026

I renew the $95 Citi Strata Premier every year.

Not because of the 3X gas, grocery, and travel categories.

Not because of the twice-annual $50 AT&T credits.

Those are fine.

I renew because Citi points help book trips my Chase and Amex points cannot.

For my own upcoming travel, that means:

Taipei nonstop on EVA Airways business class

Bangkok in Thai First Class through Royal Orchid Plus.

Arizona visits using AAdvantage top-offs.

That is the annual fee math most people miss.

The best card is the one that helps book the trip you are actually trying to take.

06/15/2026

Before opening another travel card, name the trip first.

Africa in business class.
New Zealand with lie-flat seats.
Europe for two without burning the wrong points.

The card offer is only useful if it helps book the seats you actually want.

This post walks through Linda’s situation: plenty of points, impressive balances, and a gap between what she had earned and what her dream trips required.

That gap is exactly why I built Points Wealth Building.

If you are planning a major trip in the next 18 months, start here before your next card application.

What your point mix reveals once you name the trips you care about most

06/08/2026

Memories Monday.
Virgin Australia Business Class
LAX → BNE → SYD
80,000 SkyMiles + $36.20
Christmas in Australia.
Back when SkyMiles still had a pulse.

06/07/2026

Picked up 32,000 Chase points.

Free.

Without leaving the couch.

$800 in Visa eGift cards from Staples on a Chase Ink Cash = 4,000 Chase points.

Repeat 8 times.

Use the cards for normal spending.

32,000 Chase points later...

Enough for a one-way business class flight to Europe on Virgin.

My sweatpants earned more points today than most people earn all year.

06/06/2026

The business-class award seats were available.

The points were available.

The traveler was available.

The booking nearly failed anyway.

The reason had nothing to do with the airline or the points balance.

Award travel rewards preparation.

The booking window rewards people who are ready.

Full story: https://mileshusband.substack.com/p/the-business-class-award-seats-were

06/04/2026

One of the more fun trips I've booked this year:

A client's "Thaicycle" tour. 🚴🇹🇭

Ten days cycling from Bangkok to Phuket, with Singapore Airlines Business Class to kick things off.

The flights came in at:

💺 Cash price: $3,784
✈️ Booked for: $19 + 151,000 Amex points.

That includes lie-flat seats, Singapore Airlines service, KrisFlyer Business Lounge, a 24-hour stopover in Singapore, and a complimentary city tour before continuing to Thailand.

Sometimes points create a cheaper flight.

Sometimes they help create a story you'll be talking about for years.

06/02/2026

The AMEX to Air France 25% transfer bonus is useful, but only if you search correctly.

One trap I’m seeing right now:

Flying Blue’s calendar pricing can make an award look more expensive than it actually is.

In one example, the calendar showed 213K as the lowest available fare.

But after clicking into the daily results, September 7 priced at 193.5K.

That lower price never appeared in the calendar view.

I see this most often when a partner airline operates part of the itinerary.

So the takeaway is simple:

Do not make a transfer decision based only on the Flying Blue monthly or daily calendar.

Click through to the actual date, verify the bookable itinerary, then decide whether the transfer bonus actually helps.

05/28/2026

Until Philippine Airlines releases award space to Qantas, this new partnership is mostly a logo swap.

SFO–Manila has ample business class seats via Avios.
Qantas shows nothing.

Never chase points because a partnership exists.
Chase the program that can actually book the seat.

05/27/2026

Business class is glamorous until the meal orders start flapping in the cabin like a medieval dinner scroll.

This was on a 787-8 business class flight across the Atlantic.

Lie-flat seat.
Champagne
A handwritten paper meal list taped together and flapping through business class like the Dead Sea Scrolls of airline catering.

The best part?

I paid 55,000 Atmos points + $97 for the ticket.

That’s the part people miss about points.

You don’t need every part of the experience to look polished for the redemption to be excellent.

At that price, I’ll happily let the flight crew run dinner service off parchment as long as the seat goes flat, the service is kind, and 3H gets fish.